Fantasy football projections, Week 7: Colts vs. Broncos featuring Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck projected to have big games

Peyton Manning will make his return to Indianapolis on Sunday and there could be plenty of fantasy points scored in the matchup with the Colts.

by Mark Sandritter

Oct 20, 2013, 11:15 AM UTC

Doug Pensinger

The focus of Sunday's game between the Colts and Broncos has been on Peyton Manning's return to Indianapolis, but the game is also a matchup between two of the best teams in the AFC. The Colts are coming off their second loss of the season, but are 4-2 with impressive wins against San Francisco and Seattle. The Broncos enter the game 6-0 and will have Von Miller on the field for the first time this season after a six-game suspension.

In addition to being a possible playoff preview, Sunday’s game could also be full of fantasy points. Manning and Luck are two of the top fantasy quarterbacks and each is projected to have a big day. Here’s a complete look at the projections with some help from numberFire.

Colts

Luck didn't have his best game last week, but has been a solid fantasy fantasy performer this season. Denver has allowed the most passing yards in the NFL through six weeks which is part of the reason Luck is projected for 20.54 fantasy points. Reggie Wayne is projected to be his top receiving threat with a 12.04-point projection.

Although the Broncos struggle against the pass, Denver is first in the league against the run. Still, Trent Richardson is projected to have a solid day with 11.84 fantasy points. Part of the reason Richardson is projected for double-digit fantasy points is his ability to catch the ball. He projected to catch 3.64 passes for 30 yards.

Broncos

Although the Colts have been good against the pass -- ranking 5th in the NFL in passing yards allowed -- that didn’t do much to diminish Manning’s projection. He’s projected for 23.53 fantasy points, thanks to 360.50 passing yards and 2.72 touchdowns. Amazingly enough, those numbers would be below his season averages. He’s averaging 363.2 yards and 3.7 touchdowns per game.

Knowshon Moreno is firmly atop Denver's running back depth chart and he's projected for another good game with 13.41 fantasy points. Manning has spread the ball around this season which leads to close projections for Wes Welker, Demaryius and Eric Decker. Welker is projected for 11.63 points while Thomas has a projection of 10.92 points with Decker checking in at 9.82 points.

Julius Thomas has had two monster games this season, but projectors don’t expect another. He’s projected for 8.8 fantasy points.